Jackson, now a freshman QB at Alabama State, threw two touchdown passes, returned a punt for a score and rushed for 129 yards as the Rams rolled to a 35-14 win, their seventh blowout of Belleview in seven seasons.

A year later, Eastside enters the Strike Zone on Friday night with an 0-3 record and no clear-cut starter under center, let alone a star like Jackson.

Belleview, meanwhile, is 2-0. And this time around, it's Pitts who appears to be the QB to watch in this matchup.

Just don't ask him to compare himself to Jackson.

"He could beat a team by himself, but over here it's a whole team," Pitts said. "You can't just be one man and beat everybody. We have the whole package."

Pitts may not admit it, but he's the glue that holds that package together. A 5-foot-9, 200-pound junior, Pitts is strong, fast and fully capable of shredding a defense in a variety of ways.

And after a long rebuilding job started three years ago by veteran local coach Phillip Yancey, the Rattlers finally have enough talent around their star QB that they believe they're ready to compete with a program like Eastside, which may be 0-3 but has played a brutal schedule and remains a respected program with no shortage of quality athletes.

The Rams are also the defending District 5A-5 champions, which makes this game a potential statement for an upstart Belleview team starving for respect.

"Our kids have worked awful hard to close the gap athletically on some of these teams, so you've got to give them credit," Yancey said. "We're a lot more athletic than we were when I first got here so that makes us feel good. The guys are very disciplined. They go to work. Hopefully, we can snap this bad streak we're on with Eastside."

Yancey agrees Pitts could be a difference maker against a team like Eastside in many of the same ways Jackson was.

"It's his third year," Yancey said. "He kind of got thrown in when he was a freshman and sophomore. You're not going to win with a young quarterback in his freshman year, they're just not mature enough physically. Now that he's had two years in the weight room and he's strong — people don't realize how strong he is, and he's fast — now he can win some games for us."

Pitts has the classic physical profile of a running back, not a quarterback. His height, weight, speed, strength and footwork have caused colleges including Notre Dame, N.C. State, Auburn, Michigan State, Miami, Air Force, Georgia Tech and countless others to take notice.

Because Pitts lacks the prototypical height of a pocket passer, most of those potential suitors see him as a rusher or a cornerback at the next level. Ask Pitts what his future position is, however, and you quickly learn he isn't ready to play along with those projections.

"Quarterback," Pitts answers before the question has even been fully asked.

And what about those concerns about his height?

"Look at Russell Wilson," he replies.

Wilson happens to be the Seattle Seahawks' 5-foot-11 exception to every rule ever written about the size of an NFL quarterback. Wilson's mobility, his leadership and his popularity with teammates have allowed him to overcome any perceived physical limitations.

Pitts, too, is a popular guy and a huge fan of the players around him, including senior Rattler college prospects like hulking lineman Ben Jones, like lengthy receiver Dyantre Colston, like shifty running back Craig Riche.

Pitts said Riche has "blazing speed."

"He's like lightning," Pitts said, "and then he'll make you miss and break your ankles."

Colston, a 6-foot-3 receiver with a Tulane offer, "is just an all-around playmaker," noted Pitts. "If it's a jump ball, he'll go up and get it. If it's behind him, he's got it."

But that potential Pitts-to-Colston connection has been an early concern for Belleview; the pair has produced only two catches through two games. In fact, while Pitts has rushed for nearly 200 yards and three touchdowns, he's completed just eight total passes with a couple of picks and no touchdowns.

That's nothing to worry about, according to Yancey. After all, the Rattlers are 2-0 and rank third in Marion County in total offense. "Our problem throwing the ball hasn't been (Pitts) as much as it's been protection sometimes and just not catching the football," Yancey said. "We've got to become better at that. But Erik can beat you in different ways and he does a good job running the offense and just trying to take what's given to him."

If Pitts can engineer a victory Friday against an Eastside team that has outscored Belleview 277-61 over the past seven meetings, it would give the Rattlers a 3-0 record for the first time since 2005.

It would mean much more than that for Pitts. It would mean respect — finally — for a long-suffering program.

<p>A year ago, Erik Pitts watched Eastside quarterback Sir Jackson rip apart his Belleview team six different ways.</p><p>Jackson, now a freshman QB at Alabama State, threw two touchdown passes, returned a punt for a score and rushed for 129 yards as the Rams rolled to a 35-14 win, their seventh blowout of Belleview in seven seasons.</p><p>A year later, Eastside enters the Strike Zone on Friday night with an 0-3 record and no clear-cut starter under center, let alone a star like Jackson. </p><p>Belleview, meanwhile, is 2-0. And this time around, it's Pitts who appears to be the QB to watch in this matchup.</p><p>Just don't ask him to compare himself to Jackson.</p><p>"He could beat a team by himself, but over here it's a whole team," Pitts said. "You can't just be one man and beat everybody. We have the whole package."</p><p>Pitts may not admit it, but he's the glue that holds that package together. A 5-foot-9, 200-pound junior, Pitts is strong, fast and fully capable of shredding a defense in a variety of ways.</p><p>And after a long rebuilding job started three years ago by veteran local coach Phillip Yancey, the Rattlers finally have enough talent around their star QB that they believe they're ready to compete with a program like Eastside, which may be 0-3 but has played a brutal schedule and remains a respected program with no shortage of quality athletes.</p><p>The Rams are also the defending District 5A-5 champions, which makes this game a potential statement for an upstart Belleview team starving for respect.</p><p>"Our kids have worked awful hard to close the gap athletically on some of these teams, so you've got to give them credit," Yancey said. "We're a lot more athletic than we were when I first got here so that makes us feel good. The guys are very disciplined. They go to work. Hopefully, we can snap this bad streak we're on with Eastside."</p><p>Yancey agrees Pitts could be a difference maker against a team like Eastside in many of the same ways Jackson was.</p><p>"It's his third year," Yancey said. "He kind of got thrown in when he was a freshman and sophomore. You're not going to win with a young quarterback in his freshman year, they're just not mature enough physically. Now that he's had two years in the weight room and he's strong — people don't realize how strong he is, and he's fast — now he can win some games for us."</p><p>Pitts has the classic physical profile of a running back, not a quarterback. His height, weight, speed, strength and footwork have caused colleges including Notre Dame, N.C. State, Auburn, Michigan State, Miami, Air Force, Georgia Tech and countless others to take notice.</p><p>Because Pitts lacks the prototypical height of a pocket passer, most of those potential suitors see him as a rusher or a cornerback at the next level. Ask Pitts what his future position is, however, and you quickly learn he isn't ready to play along with those projections.</p><p>"Quarterback," Pitts answers before the question has even been fully asked.</p><p>And what about those concerns about his height?</p><p>"Look at Russell Wilson," he replies.</p><p>Wilson happens to be the Seattle Seahawks' 5-foot-11 exception to every rule ever written about the size of an NFL quarterback. Wilson's mobility, his leadership and his popularity with teammates have allowed him to overcome any perceived physical limitations.</p><p>Pitts, too, is a popular guy and a huge fan of the players around him, including senior Rattler college prospects like hulking lineman Ben Jones, like lengthy receiver Dyantre Colston, like shifty running back Craig Riche.</p><p>Pitts said Riche has "blazing speed."</p><p>"He's like lightning," Pitts said, "and then he'll make you miss and break your ankles."</p><p>Colston, a 6-foot-3 receiver with a Tulane offer, "is just an all-around playmaker," noted Pitts. "If it's a jump ball, he'll go up and get it. If it's behind him, he's got it."</p><p>But that potential Pitts-to-Colston connection has been an early concern for Belleview; the pair has produced only two catches through two games. In fact, while Pitts has rushed for nearly 200 yards and three touchdowns, he's completed just eight total passes with a couple of picks and no touchdowns.</p><p>That's nothing to worry about, according to Yancey. After all, the Rattlers are 2-0 and rank third in Marion County in total offense. "Our problem throwing the ball hasn't been (Pitts) as much as it's been protection sometimes and just not catching the football," Yancey said. "We've got to become better at that. But Erik can beat you in different ways and he does a good job running the offense and just trying to take what's given to him."</p><p>If Pitts can engineer a victory Friday against an Eastside team that has outscored Belleview 277-61 over the past seven meetings, it would give the Rattlers a 3-0 record for the first time since 2005.</p><p>It would mean much more than that for Pitts. It would mean respect — finally — for a long-suffering program.</p><p>"We're hungry," Pitts said. "We're ready to show everybody that we're back."</p><p>----</p><p><i>Andy Marks can be reached at andy.marks@ocala.com.</i></p>